Modelguns

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Modelguns are Japanese replica or toy firearms, which were developed after the Second World War due to tight restrictions on firearm ownership in Japan. They are now collector's items.

Civilians are forbidden by Japanese law to possess handguns, although in rare cases they may be permitted to possess live shotguns. As a result, the Japanese have developed a fascination for them.^{[citation needed]} The first "modelguns" were developed in the late 1950s and were fairly crude approximations of actual firearms, with few operational features. Many of the first modelguns were imported cap guns from the United States, but were eventually replaced with indigenous designs.

The Japanese modelgun/airsoft inventor Tanio Kobayashi is considered by many Japanese to be the "father" of the modelgun, as Kobayashi's internal modelgun designs led to the modern version of the modelgun.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Regulations

The various Japanese modelgun laws can be quite confusing, as the initial modelguns where fairly unregulated and some models were closer to real firearms than replicas. In 1965, the Japanese government began regulating the replica firearms industry. Changes included requiring that the barrels have internal blocks to prevent the firing of projectiles. Later revisions to the Japanese swords/firearms laws pertained to materials and other safety changes.

[edit] Types

Modelguns can be found in many configurations and types. These range from small pistols/revolvers to machineguns, with the exception of belt fed machineguns. Handgun models were and still are quite popular in Japan. Pistols/revolvers, rifles, shotguns, assault rifles and sub-machinegun models can be found in both all-metal and plastic versions. Modelguns are available in display-only or cap-firing versions. The modelguns do not and cannot use conventional blank cartridges due to their construction. Modelguns use small flexible plastic caps (usually from 5 to 7mm in diameter), that have a phosphorus composition filler. These caps fit into machined brass multi-piece cartridges which consist of a primer, base, piston, O-rings and the "bullet". The cartridge design as well as the parts count/description varies by manufacturer. The Japanese manufacturer Marushin invented the modern plastic bodied cap in the early 1980s. Before this, the caps where quite similar to the paper roll caps that were common in the United States. However, the Japanese paper caps where "printed" on flat sheets of red paper.

The current modelgun manufacturers are MGC, Marushin, Tanaka, Hudson, Kokusai and CAW.